Tiruchirappalli

Tiruchirappalli, often called Trichy or Tiruchy, is a city in Tamil Nadu, Southern India. It has a population of 916,857 as of 2011 census. The climate in the city is extremely hot but humidity is low.

Understand

Tiruchirappalli is an ancient city of South India and it was the capital of Chola and Naicka kings for many centuries. The battle between the British (East Indian Company) & French with the help of locals marked the beginnings of the British Raj in the southern part of India.

Get in

Tiruchirappalli is well connected to Chennai the capital city of Tamil Nadu. Geographically located in the centre of Tamil Nadu, Tiruchirappalli provides good connectivity between all major towns and cities in Tamil Nadu both by road and rail.

By car

Major national highways pass through Tiruchirappalli leading to well-connected road network to rest of India. Grand Southern Trunk Road (GST Road) or National Highway 45 (NH45) is one of the busiest National Highways in Southern India with a total length of 472 km (293 mi). The highway exactly starts from Kathipara junction in Guindy, a very busy confluence of five roads in south Chennai and extends up to Theni. It connects Chennai to its airport and the southern suburbs. The two important cities connected by this highway are Chennai and Tiruchirappalli and the two important towns connected by this highway are Dindigul and Theni in Tamil Nadu. The highway has a 4 lane (2 lanes each direction) system between Chennai and Tiruchirappalli, though a complete change to 6 lanes is being planned. And Dindigul - Theni part is under four-lane construction. The Chennai International Airport is located on this highway within the Chennai City limits.

By bus

The highest number of buses leaving Chennai is towards Tiruchirappalli and vice versa. One can either take the State Government run buses (State Express Transport Corporation or Tamil Nadu State Transport Corp.) or private buses. The private buses run by the following operators are very convenient and timely and comfortable:

1. KPN Travels
2. Parveen Travels
3. SRM Travels
4. MJT Travels
5. RKT Tours and Travels
6. SRS Travels or
7. RPN Travels
8. Sri Renganathan Travels

All these have Internet bookings so you can plan your trip in advance.

By plane

• 1 Tiruchirappalli International Airport (TRZ  ^IATA) (around 5 km (3.1 mi) towards Pudukottai at Chembattu). Tiruchirappalli is a convenient, low-cost entry point to India from Southeast Asia; Air Asia has flights from Kuala Lumpur via Singapore. Tickets booked in advance cost around ₹3,000 (US$60, for a four-hour flight), but can be well below ₹2,000 on sale. This is a good option if you fly from Thailand or Malaysia to Southern India. Singapore-based Low-Cost Carrier (LCC) flies from Singapore daily. Air India Express (an LCC subsidiary of Air India) flies to and from Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore daily and Abu Dhabi weekly twice. Air India Express also operates a daily domestic service to Chennai and weekly service to Mumbai. SriLankan Airlines allows many connections to Colombo. SpiceJet flies to Chennai. (updated Nov 2023)

By train

2 Tiruchirappalli Junction  SR  is well connected to all cities and most of the major towns in India. Located at the middle of Tamil Nadu makes it one of the busiest railway stations in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the major junctions which has trains to Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Mysore, Kochi, Madurai, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli, Howrah and other parts of India. Rail tickets can be booked online via the official government website.

Get around

Commonly used modes of local transport in Tiruchirappalli is the state government-owned Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) buses, Taxi and auto rickshaws.

Talk

Tamil is the language spoken in Tiruchirappalli. The accent of Tamil spoken here is neutral (unlike the cities of Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore and Tirunelveli, which have their own characteristic and heavy accents).

English is understood by most of those in the city.

The headquarters of Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha located at Tiruchirappalli has contributed a lot towards growing the Hindi language.

See

Tiruchirappalli district is famous for many ancient and popular temples and religious institutions. The bus network of Tiruchirappalli is very developed and most of the city readily accessible by bus at reasonable prices.

• 1 All Saints Church, Salai Rd, Puthur.. 

Basilica of the Holy Redeemer

• 2 Basilica of the Holy Redeemer. 
• Gunaseelam - Vishnu Temple. dedicated to Lord Srinivasa. 
• 3 Jaamiya Masjid (in the city centre). built by the Nawab of Arcot more than two centuries ago. 
• 4 Jambukeshwara Temple (7 km from Tiruchirappalli Junction and less than 1 km from Sri Ranganathaswamy temple). Famous Shiva temple and One of the five Pancha bootha kshetras (five elements namely water, earth, air, fire and ether). This one is appu sthala (representing water). free entrance. 
• Perumal Malai, Thuraiur. Another Temple for Lord Vishnu. 

View of the Rockfort Temple from the Kaveri bridge

• 5 The Rockfort Temple (5 km at the North of Tiruchirappalli junction. The temple can be reached from Central Bus stand or Tiruchirappalli Junction with bus #1 for ₹3). 6- 8PM. The temple complex has many temples. Thayumaanavar, Uchchi pillayar and Maanikka vinayagar are the most important temples. One can feel the icy chill of the wind when getting to the top of the rock. (The temple is housed on the top of a famous rock). One also gets a splendid view of the city and the Cauvery river from the top. Enjoy the bird's eye view of Tiruchirappalli, Srirangam, Cauvery and its surroundings in the morning or in the evening. A must-visit place of anyone in South India. ₹3 for entrance, ₹20 for camera. ₹100 for video camera. 
• 6 St. John's Church (at the Cantonment). one of the oldest churches in India. 
• 7 St. Joseph's Church (5 km from Tiruchirappalli Jn), 200 year old place. Of worship. 
• 8 St. Lourd's Church, Theppakulam.. 
• 9 Samayapuram Amman Temple (Samayapuram Mariamman Temple) (13 km from Trichy Junction). People walk in from the surrounding districts to offer their prayers. Popular with the masses. Can be crowded on Fridays. 
• 10 Sri Brahmapureeswarar Temple, Brahma Sthalam at Tirupattur.. 

Sri Ranganathaswamy temple

• 11 Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam (8 km from Trichy Junction. The temple can be reached from Central or City Bus stand by bus #1 for ₹4). The deity of the temple is the sleeping form of Lord Vishnu. It has 21 gopurams and the biggest of them is 73 m high. The temple complex area is 2.5 sq.km. Non-Hindus can only go up to the sixth wall but not inside the gold topped sanctum sanctorum. Free entrance, ₹50 (+20camera) for roof access. (updated Nov 2023)
• T.E.L.C Holy Trinity Cathedral, Melapudur.. 
• Thablay Aalam Baadsha Dhargah. The mausoleum of a Muslim saint who came to Tiruchirappalli centuries ago. 
• 12 Thiruvellarai (20 km from Tiruchirappalli or 40 min of travel from Chatram bus stand in government/private bus). Sendamarai kannan temple which was built before Srirangam Renganadhaswami temple and Thiruvanaikovil Jambukeshwara temple. 
• Vayalur Murugan Temple. It is one of the six Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Muruga 
• 13 Viralimalai Murugan Temple. 
• Woriyur with Vekkaliamman Temple (5 km from Trichy Junction'). Popular with the masses. Can be crowded on Fridays. 

Apart from temples, there are also some destinations, ideal for picnics, day trips or just looking around.

• Kallanai. 2,000 yr old dam built on the Kallanai river, (an offshoot of the Cauvery river) by Karikala Cholan. 
• 14 Mukkombu (15 km from Trichy Jn.). a tourist spot at 
• Puliyancholai (on the Kallanai river). A green hideout around a pretty waterfall. On the Foot hills of Kollimalai - Kolli hills near Thuraiur. 
• Thillai Nagar. busy commercial and residential district. 
• Tiruchirappalli Cantonment (located near the city). a residential that originated as a cantonment of the Madras Regiment in the 18th century. Most of the hotels and restaurants Tiruchirappalli Junction, and the main tourist office, and post office of Tiruchirappalli are located here. 
• 15 Butterfly Park (வண்ணத்துப்பூச்சி பூங்கா), Tropical Butterfly Conservatory Campus, Srirangam Taluk (Around 20km from Trichy junction by bus. After reaching Srirangam, you can take a minibus up to the Butterfly Park. The minibus may come once in 45 minutes), ☏ +91 431 241 4265. 9AM-6PM, closed on Tuesdays. Large park featuring a glass butterfly house, landscaped gardens, a fountain and an eatery. There are many huts made of hay, so it is convenient to sit and have fun along with family even on a sunny day. There is a small boating pond and play areas for kids. Many plants are labelled properly with their local name and biological name, so it is educational. (updated Aug 2018)

Significant industrial landmarks

• 16 BHEL. Bharat heavy electricals manufacturer. 
• 17 GoldenRock. The factories of the Golden Rock Locomotive Workshops and the residential quarters of its employees are located here. 
• 18 Happ. The Heavy Alloy Penetrator Project or HAPP is an Indian defense establishment operated by the Ordnance Factories Board. 
• 19 OFT,Ordnance Factory Tiruchirappalli. Ordnance Factory Tiruchirappalli (OFT) also called Ordnance Factory Trichy is a defense company based in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. It is one of the 41 Indian Ordnance Factories functioning under the Ordnance Factories Board of the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. 

Buy

• Chinna Kadai Street,(NSB Road): The main shopping centre is the "Chinna Kadai" street that runs along the "teppakulum" (temple tank) of the Uchchi Pillaiyar Rock temple. The street is packed with apparel, jewellery and household merchandise stores interspersed with restaurants and snack bars.
• The most popular stores for apparel shopping are
  • Saradhaas - very old store famous for silk saris and biggest store. Cheap and best quality
  • Krishna Readymade Hall - cramped shop with good selection of readymade salwar and western wear
  • Lakshmi Silks - further down the street beyond the Uchchi pillaiyar temple, good collection of wedding saris
  • The Chennai Silks - variety of modern styles
  • Ahmed Bros - variety of modern styles
• Traditional jewellery can be found in
  • Mangal and Mangal-Good collection of jewellery.
  • Gopaldas - good quality, traditional designs
  • Sampath jewellers - Gold ornaments collections and silver collections
  • Shree Lakshmi Kreations -Good source of Natural Diamonds and Diamond jewellery, Traditional Jewellery and coloured gemstones.They also manufacture jewellery according to your design.
• Thillainagar This is a well-developed area where we can shop for the branded items
• Manghalam Towers A Popular mall spread over 60,000² ft at the heart of Tiruchirappalli. "Reliance Hypermart" occupies 2 floors, has products ranging from groceries, household utensils, apparels, furniture, electronics, luggage, foot wears and so on. The mall has "Vijay Food Court" having various food brands including Tandoor Xpress, Noodle King, ifruit and Baskin Robbins
• Femina Shopping Mall Hypermart in the centre of the city. Over 40,000² ft of shopping space, with all products from jewellery to chocolates, clothes, high-end sarees and garments, a food court and children"s arcade, most products are imported from various parts of the world. catering to clients of all different classes, the moto here is to make sure everyone enjoys shopping as an experience to actually shop, so that they walk out knowing for certain they have got a good deal, this is made possible by our dedicated purchasing team who go all out to shelf products that are new, attractive and of the highest quality yet affordable.

Learn

There are some very popular schools with high educational standards in the area, including The Higher Secondary School for Boys (Srirangam), Campion, St. Joseph's Anglo Indian Girls Higher Secondary School, Holy Cross Girls Higher Secondary School, St. John's Vestry, Sri Akilandeshwari Vidhyalaya, Mahatma Gandhi, RSK, Montfort School and Kamakoti Vidhyala, Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School Ponmalaipatti.

There are several colleges in Tiruchy including Mookambigai College of Engineering, JJ College of Engineering and Technology, approximately 20 km from the central bus stand, St.Joseph's, Jamal Mohamed College, Bishop Heber's College, National College, Holy Cross College, SRC, IGC, EVR and the Law College of Tiruchirappalli.

The National Institute of Technology & the Bharathidasan Institute of Management are located near Tiruverumbur, 14 km from Tiruchirappalli.

BharathiDasan University is 2 km from Tiruchirappalli towards Pudukkottai Road.

Dakshina bharat Hindi prachar sabha located near Tennur High road, Tiruchirappalli is a portal for those who are eager to learn Hindi.

Eat

Budget

• Andavar Sweets, Chathiram Bus Stand, Tiruchirappalli.. 
• Big chick, Fort Station Road, Thillainagar (near Odysee). 
• Chick punch, Spencers hyper mart food court (near Railway junction). 
• Cappuccino, St Joseph College shopping complex, Chatram bus stand. The coffee shop 
• Hotel Aananth, Trichy-Tanjore highway near Thiruverumbur (First Floor). Newly opened veg & non-vegetarian restaurant, serves high-class food with great taste. 
• Ice Blue Restaurant, Trichy-Tanjore highway near Thiruverumbur (opposite VKN building). Newly opened non-vegetarian restaurant, serves high-class Chettinad food with great taste. 
• Khurunji, Hotel Guru (opposite Central Bus Stand). Pure vegetarian restaurant. Good quality food and fast service. All items are made fresh. Lunch meals priced at ₹45 are available from 1PM-4PM. A typical meal for two can cost about ₹70-₹100. A/C dining room for an extra ₹5 per person. 
• Marrybrown, Williams Rd (near central bus stand, Cantonment). 
• Sangeetha, Racquet Court Ln. Vegetarian restaurant of the Hotel Aanand 
• Sri Saraswathi Cafe, # 27,Rockins Rd (opposite Railway Junction), ☏ +91 431 241 2333. Established 1964, traditional South Indian food with prompt service from 5:30AM-11:30AM. then lunch from 11:45AM-3:30PM. Evening snacks and meals up to 10:45PM. A/C dining service available at minimal extra cost. Home delivery and outdoor catering available. 

Mid-range

• Banana Leaf. Non-vegetarian restaurant. 
• Buhari. Non-vegetarian restaurant. 
• Breeze. Non-vegetarian restaurant. 
• Domino's Pizza, Tillai Nagar (near Reliance). 
• Hotel Femina, Williams Rd (near Central bus stand.), ☏ +91 431 241 4501. Restaurant inside the hotel of the same name. 
• Kannapa Chettinad restaurant, Mannarpuram, Tillainagar. Non-vegetarian restaurant. Here you get high-class Chettinad food with a traditional taste. 
• Kulathur Briyani hotel (a little away from city on Dindugal Rd'). Non-vegetarian restaurant. Famous for Sunday afternoon biryani with good taste. 
• Sangeetha, Racquet Court Ln. Vegetarian restaurant of the Hotel Aanand. 
• Seakings Ice Creams, 6 RR Sabha Buildings, W.B. Rd (near Chennai Silks), ☏ +91 431 270 0731. 10AM-9:30PM. A 33 year old ice cream parlour with a wide range of in-house ice cream sundaes to choose from. Includes signature dishes like Triple Treat and Falooda. 
• Sree Krishnas, Rockin St (in front of Central bus stand.). A nice vegetarian restaurant which offers Indian and Chinese food. The morning, a continental breakfast is available. Meals at ₹40. 
• Thanco's Fresh Fruitsz Ice-cream, Yummy Naturals, No.5,Parasakthi Complex, 2nd Cross, Thillainagar Main Rd, ☏ +91 431 4200750. 11AM-10PM. First ever fresh fruit icecream in Trichy, provided without artificial flavours, preservatives or chemicals. Wide variety of unique flavours like tender coconut, guava, sitaphal and chikoo. 
• Vijay food court, Manghalam towers, Cantonment (above Reliance Mart, near Iyyapan temple). Baskin Robins, Noodle King, Tandoor Express, Adayar shree bhavan, El bustan, Royal feast, Chennai Fried Chicken, Pizza Corner, Vijay Cinemas. 

Splurge

• Grand Gardenia, 22-25, Mannarpuram Junction, ☏ +91 431 404 5000, info@grandgardenia.com. 11:30AM-3PM, 7PM-10:30PM, 'tea times' are separate. Multicuisine restaurant 

Drink

• Birmanda Sarbat Stall, Palakarai Main Rd (4 km from Central Bus Stand, bus#1 will take you there for ₹2). Serves sarbat, an ayurvedic nanari juice. In the city for more than 3 decades. 
• Badam Milk, Near the Central Bus Stand.

Sleep

Budget

• Hotel Anand, Racquet Court Ln, ☏ +91 431 2415545. From ₹500. 
• Hotel Meega, 3 Rockins Rd (opposite Central Bus Stand), ☏ +91 431 241 4092. Check-in: 24 hr. Clean hotel with TV in every room. No hot water is available. ₹650 for A/C rooms. 
• Mayavaram Lodge, Near Teppakulam. Decent hotel. (updated Sep 2015)
• Sri Saraswathi Lodge, # 27, Rockins Rd (opposite Railway Junction), ☏ +91 431 400 2000. Check-in: 24 hr. Newly renovated, cable TV in all rooms, running cold and hot water. Travel desk assistance and hygienic veg restaurant at the ground floor. From ₹240 for regular Rooms and ₹700 for A/C rooms. 

Mid-range

• Femina Hotel, Williams Rd, ☏ +91 431 241 4501. 
• Grand Gardenia, 22-25, Mannarpuram Junction, ☏ +91 431 404 5000. Check-in: 24 hr, check-out: 24 hr. US$75. 
• Jenny's Residency, McDonald's Rd, ☏ +91 431 246 1301. 

Splurge

• Breeze residency, McDonald's Rd, ☏ +91 431 241 4414, fax: +91 431 246 1451, breezeresidency@eth.net. From ₹2,300. 
• Hotel Sangam Trichy, Hotel Sangam, Collectors Office Road, 620001, ☏ +91 452-4244526. Sangam Hotel is a well-known hotel in Trichy (Tiruchirapalli) 

Stay healthy

Hospitals

• Apollo Speciality Hospitals, Ariyamangalam Area, Chennai - Madurai Highway, Tel:0431-3307777
• CSI Mission Hospital, Woriur, Tel:0431-2761927
• Kauvery Hospital Heart City, No-12/52, Alexandria Road, Cantonment, Tel:0431-4003500 Emergency Tel:0431-4022555
• Kauvery Medical Centre, No.1, K.C.Road, Tennur, Tel:0431-4022555
• KMC Specialty Hospital, No.6 Royal Road, Cantonment, Tel:0431-4077777
• Tiruverumbur Medical Centre, is located at Tiruverumbur nearly 10 km from Tiruchirappalli

Pharmacies

• Vasan Medical, All Over the City
• Apollo Pharmacy, All Over the City
• Med Plus, All Over the city
• Thulasi Pharmacy India, Thillai nagar, Cantonment, Thiruvanaikovil

Go next

• Jayakondam — 120 km, important historical place
• Kulithalai — on your way to Kulithalai, you can enjoy the road journey virtually on the banks of Cauvery, unforgettable experience
• Karur — 80 km, industrial town for handlooms and woven fabrics and you can find few temples
• Madurai — one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in India
• Musiri — location of the longest river bridge across the River Cauvery in Tamilnadu
• Pudukkottai — 45 km from Trichy; near Sithannavasal, famous for its carvings & paintings dated back centuries
• Thanjavur — another Historical city away from 60 km, Important tourist centre in South India, famous for its Brihadeeshwara Temple (Big Temple), Don't miss it. There are many interesting places and temples in and around Thanjavur
• Kumbakonam — This is called City of Temples. away from 90 km, Important tourist centre in South India, famous for the Sarangapani Temple,, Chakrapani Temple,,Kumbeswarar Temple,,Mahamaham Tank,etc. There are many temples in and around this city.On the way from Thanjavur to Kumbakonam you can visit made up Thiruvalanchuzhi (White Pill made up of sea froth)"Swamimalai(Murugan Temple)", Patteeswaram Durga Temple, Saththimuththam Temple etc.Navagraha Sthalams are worth visiting.